Film Workshop in Edinburgh

JESSICA LANGFORD HAS ESTABLISHED AN ANIMATION FILM WORKSHOP AS PART OF THE FILM WORK SHOP TRUST IN EDINBURGH.

Film Workshop Trust is an independent educational charitable trust formed in 1977. Since then they have provided training and access to equipment in the media of video, slide-tape, film and photography for youth and community groups – primarily within Lothian Region.

Since August 1981 Jessica Langford has been running an animated film workshop in space allocated by Theatre Workshop within their community arts centre, to provide facilities for individual film makers, young people, community and arts groups in Scotland.

The animation workshop acts as a resource centre, providing 16mm and super 8 equipment to users as well as practical help with artwork, presentation, technical information and finally with distribution and transfer to video.

They have weekly animation courses for adults and ‘after-school’ for young people. Films are usually completed over a ten week period and each group gains practical experience of all the processes involved.

The animation workshop is also running animation projects in schools and community centers. They find that animation can be introduced as part of an art lesson or as a creative extension to more formal subjects.

A course is also being run to provide teachers with enough practical experience to be able to set up an animation project in their own schools. The group is made up of five teachers and ten pupils working together in three small groups. The great advantage of this kind of course is that teachers gain practical experience of all the processes involved and the problems likely to occur.

An example of the kind of animation productions made is KALEIDOSCOPE, made in 16mm by a class of 11 year olds at Holy Cross Primary School, Leith. In making the film the children explored how shapes and colours move, by animating autumn leaves to form a kaleidoscope pattern that metamorphosed into birds, butterflies, fish, flames and fire dragons. They even devised their own film music.

The workshops have been achieved to date without financial support. For information about the Animation Workshop contact Jessica Langford, Edinburgh.

Originally printed in Animator’s newsletter Issue 4 (Spring 1983)